The next Thursday July 2 three matches will be held in the round of 32 of the 2026 World Cupso that the round of 16 are getting closer to being disputed in North Americabut 12 teams still have to fight for their place in the next round, in which the 16 best teams of the world.
For the night of this Wednesday, July 1, ten teams have already qualified for the round of 16 of the World Cup: Canada, Brazil, Paraguay, Morocco, Norway, France, Mexico, England, Belgium and the USA Furthermore, among the major absences are South Africa, Japan, Germany, Netherlands, Ivory Coast, Sweden, Ecuador and Senegal.
Faced with this scenario, there are still six keys of the round of 32 in this world cup, in which the last classified for the round of 16 will be defined: Spain-Austria, Portugal-Croatia, Switzerland-Algeria, Australia-Egypt, Argentina-Cape Verde and Colombia-Ghana, meetings that promise emotions until the last moment.
This was the first World Cup in history to incorporate the round of 32 and, despite the reviews initials, the phase has been a success. The International Association Football Federation (FIFA) showed that the incorporation of more teams to the World Cup did not diminish the qualitybut increased the intensity.
When do the round of 16 start?
The round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup will begin next Saturday July 4 with the commitment between the national teams Canada and Morocco, which will be played at the NRG Stadium, in Houston, Texasat 11:00 a.m. in Guatemala and will be broadcast on Tigo Sports in all Central Americaexcept Belize and Panama.
Later, at 3:00 p.m. on that Saturday, July 4, the selections of Paraguay and France They will be measured at Lincoln Financial Field, located in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where thousands of fans were waiting to see the team. Germanywhich was surprisingly eliminated by the Paraguayans in a cardiac penalty shootout.
The round will continue on Sunday, July 5 with the match between Brazil and Norway, which will be played at 2:00 p.m. in Guatemala at the MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, where two of the best footballers of today will face each other: the Norwegian Erling Haalandfrom Manchester City, and the Brazilian Viníciusfrom Real Madrid.
That same day the teams from Mexico and England in it last match of this World Cup for the stadium Mexico Citywhich at 6:00 p.m. that Sunday, July 5, will experience one of the most anticipated matches of the phase, since it could mark the return of the Tricolor to the quarterfinals for the first time in 40 years.
The candidates for the title
According to ESPNthe largest television network in the world dedicated exclusively to sports, the national team favorite to win the 2026 World Cup is Franceclosely followed by Spain, England and Argentinagiven that the French team leads the analysts’ projections and the betting houses’ odds.
- France: Leads the probabilities of victory, by having a lead fearsome and a generation of players with extensive experience in decisive instances.
- Spain: Leads the projections of supercomputers, analysts and betting houses after showing football solid and of high level.
- England: It has one of the most complete templates and valuable of the 2026 World Cup, which is why it is considered one of the top contenders.
- Argentina: She is the current world champion and a strong candidate thanks to her hierarchy and trade in the knockout phases.
On the way to the Round of 16 🔜#FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/kOGECtnX0V
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) July 2, 2026